Peeler



Nov. 1,1927.

PEELER Filed Oct. 6, 1925 vI?. Sheets-Sheet 1` Q I.. I Y Il INVENTOR Qww c NM. v Il a... l, MN.

E w .3. S

J. Q. LEAVITT PEELER Filed Oct.

6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY M W j,

ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Patented Nov. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES A 1,647,872 PATENi` ,ol-Flca` amor mvrrr, or oenmr, UTAH.

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Application led october 6, 1925. Serial Io. 60,852.

ine invention relates to peelers and more particularly to an apparatusfor removing by heat or direct contact of flame the outer skin ofyfruits, vegetables and the like, and while I shall hereinafter refer tothe arti- :les as tomatoes in order to avoid constant repetition it isto be-distinctly understood that I desire to cover the apparatus for anyuse to which it can be put.

An object of the invention is to provide a furnace open at both ends forthe passage herethrough of an endless chain, grate, iraper or lotherform of conveyor land on which the tomatoes rest and are subjected to hedirect contact of iame or heat throughout ;heir outer surface withoutthe necessity of urning the tomatoes in their passage through ',hefurnace.

The primary object therefore of the in Eurnace while they remainstationary on thel :onveyor and so subject their outer surface p o heatthat the skin will be burned or charred ;-herefrom.

It is then my purpose to deposit said to-` natoes in a washer ofstandard type in which he friction of the tomatoes rubbing together Lndagainst the outer drum and spiralof the vasher together with thecontinual spray f water will completely remove the charred r burnedskins.

I have not illustrated nor shall I describe n detail 'this washer morethan to say that may employ any washer which will give bustion.

and which is lined with fire brick, a fire, clay or other fireprooflining 2, and has an out-y let stack for the escape of products of com-This furnace 1 is provided at opposite sides or ends with alinedopenings '4 and 5,

and the furnace has chutes 6 and 7 secured y reclay baffle 8 islocatedhbrizontally in the furnace and is preferably supported onpillars 9. This baille plate hasaits u per face 1n a plane below thebottom .wal s of the openings 4 and 5 so that the upper run of aconveyor 10 supported on the bottomwall of the opening 4 will be spacedslightly abovethe upper face of baiiie 8 for a purpose which will morefullyhereinafter appear.

The space between the ba'iiie plate 8 and the lower portion of thefurnace 1 constitutes a combustion chamber 11 into which flame isdirected from a yburner 1,2 which projects into the furnace through thewall thereof, as clearly shown in- Figure l1.

The furnace 1 is supported on a frame 13, the latter being supported bywheels 14 so as to permit the furnace to be conveniently moved as may bedesired. y

The conveyor 10, 4above referred to,y which may constitute an endlesschain or draper, as it is generallyv known in the trade, is mounted onsprocket wheels 15.and 16, respectively, which latter are secured toshafts 17 and 18, respectively, and said shafts are he desired regultsas my invention relates/ mounted in suitable bearing brackets 19 deriorespecifically to the manner of burnin Ir charring the skins from thetomatoes an utilize standard equipment for the other teps in thecomplete process of removing he skins. l

With these and pther objectsin view, the nvention consists in certainnovel features -f construction and 4combinations and arangements ofparts, which will be more ully hereinafter described and pointed out nthe claims. v

In the accompanying drawings- Fi re 1 is-a view, mainly inside elevaionut partly in longitudinal section, illusrating my improved apparatus;

Fi e 2 is a view in transverse section on he line 2-2 of Figure 1; l

'Figure 3 isA a view in end elevation of l1igure 1.

1 represents my improved furnace, which gray be made'of any size andshape desired pending from platforms 20 and 21, respectively. A

These platforms 20 and 21 project in opposite directions from thefurnace, are secured to the furnace and constitute the bottoms of thechutes 6 and 7 and extend be# yond said chutes the desired distance toform platforms one of whichA may constitute `a receiving platform andtheother .a discharge platform for'the tomatoes or other articles. It is tobe understood that the upper 'A run of the conveyor 10 moves over theseplatforms 21 through the chutes 6 and 7 and through the furnace 1, asclearly indi` cated in Figure 1 r One of these shafts 17 or 18 mayconstitute a drive shaft and has a gear wheel 22 thereon meshing with apinion 23 on a shaft 24l supported by platform 21, and `on this shaft 24a pulley 25 may'be secured and -'receive motion from a belt 26 from anysitable source of power. It is of course to be understood that theinvention is not limited to any particular driving means, but the abovedescribed means constitutes one which may be conveniently employed.

27 represents a blower which may have a stationary mounting 28 and whichcommunicates by means of a pipe 29 with the burner 12; A fuel oil supplytank 30 may feed by gravity through a pipe 31. to the burner 12, andthis tank, pipes 31', 29, burner 12 and blower 27 may constitute asingle unit and from which the furnace may be moved as may be desired.

The furnace 1 is formed with a receiving nozzle 32 into which the burner12 may be projected or removed therefrom at will.

`I would call particular attention to the construction of the bailleplate 8 and its relation to the conveyor 10, as illustrated most clearlyin Figures 1 and 2. This baffle plate 8 connects all walls of thefurnace blit is provided at the sides of the furnace with openings 33,said openings extending from the wall of the furnace, and said openingshaving inclined inner walls 34 which serve to permit and direct thefiame from under the baffle plate toa position under the conveyor 10, soas to direct a portion of said flame at least through the links of theconveyor into direct contact with the under portion of the tomatoes orfruit thereon.

It will also be noticed that the shape of the interior of the furnace atits upper portion is somewhat curved or dome-shaped as indicated at 35,so that the flame which passes upwardly is deflected downwardly upon theupper side portions of the tomatoes or other articles. Hence the amesare directed into contact with the entire outer surfaces of the tomatoesas they are passed through ,the furnace, and the skins are therebyburned or charred so thatwhen they are passed through the washer, suchas above set forth, they will be completely removed.

lt is this idea of movingthe tomatoes or other articles throughthefurnace and subjecting the entire outer surface of the tomatoes orother article to the direct flame or heat without turning ormoving thetomatoes on the conveyor which constitutes the broad idea of myinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to'specific details ofconstruction but desire to cover this idea broadly.

*IIn operation theftomatoes are delivered onto the conveyor on platform21 and are carried by the :conveyor through the furnace where theyreceive the burning action above described, andare then moved out of thefurnace and deposited inthe washer as above explained.

Various slight changes and alterations might be made in the general formof the parts described without departing from the invention, and hence Ido not limit m self to the precise details set forth but consi er myselfat liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

-I claim:

1. An apparatus of the 'character described, including a furnace havingopenings in its opposite walls, platforms projecting from said openings,sprocket wheels supported by the platforms, a wheeled frame supportingthe furnace, a stationary burner adapted to enter an opening in thefurnace, an endless chain conveyor located on said sprocket wheels andplatforms and passing through the furnace, sprocket wheels on the framereceiving the lower run of the conveyor, and a perforated baffle platein the furnace between the run of the conveyor and the discharge end ofthe burner.

2, An apparatus or the character described, including a furnace havingopenings in its opposite walls, platforms projecting from said openings,sprocket wheels sup ported by the platforms, a wheeled frame supportingthe furnace, a stationary burner adapted to enter an opening in thefurnace, an endless chain conveyor located on said sprocket wheels andplatforms and passing through the furnace, sprocket wheels on the framereceiving the lower run of the conveyor, a perforated baille plate inthe furnace between the run of the conveyor and the discharge end of theburner, said furnace having a dome-like upper portion whereby the heator flame is deflected downwardly toward the conveyor, and an exhauststack at the top of the furnace.

3. An apparatus of the character described, including a furnace havingopenings in its opposite walls, platforms projecting from said openings,sprocket wheels supported by the platforms, a wheeled frame supportingthe furnace, a stationary burner adapted to enter an opening in thefurnace,

an endless chainconveyor located on said sprocket 'wheels and platformsand passing through the furnace, sprocket wheels on the frame receivingthe lower run of the conveyor, a perforated baille plate in the furnacebetweenthe run of the conveyor and the discharge end of the burner, afixed blower, a fixed fuel supply tank communicating with the burner,and an inlet nozzle on the furnace I receiving the burner, said furnaceadapted to be moved on its supporting frame toward and away from theburner.

JAMES QUINCY LEAVITT.

